Wasureta omoide no himitsu
by Arkenjil
Summary: 1+/x2 [Incomplete; indeternimably on hiatus]
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, characters especially, from Gundam Wing (much as I want to); they belong to Sunrise and Sotsu and its creators, so don't sue me. You wouldn't get anything for it, anyway. The only things I own from this fanfic are the storyline/plot and the ideas, some character designing, and of course my own "voice." [Don't take those from me! :|]

Note: Shounen-ai – if not in this chapter, then certainly in later ones. Read on only if you don't have a problem with this! If you don't know what shounen-ai is, don't read this until you've figured it out.  For those of you who do know, 1+2, 3+4, 5+Merian are planned as of now.

Note II: Blood and…uh…"not cool" things going on in this section. Be warned.

Wasureta omoide no himitsu (The Secrets of Forgotten Memories)

Written by Arkenjil

[This section completed November 20, 2001.]

Chapter 0 - Prologue

"C'mon! Keep up! You've got to!"

"I- I'm trying to, but—" Duo's reply was cut short as he suddenly slipped down a muddy bank. Solo quickly scrambled after him, skidding and sliding the whole way, and ended up with one foot in a deep mud puddle and his younger brother in his arms.

"Damned rain," Solo muttered.  To Duo, he asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," breathed Duo, but he turned his head aside and coughed violently into his free hand. It wracked his small frame from head to toe.

Solo swore under his breath and struggled up out of the puddle.  "You don't sound all right to me." He pushed his dripping bangs aside before grasping Duo's hand and peering at it in the dim light.

"Maa, Solo, there's no blood from my coughing. It didn't get to my lungs."  Duo squirmed in Solo's arms, trying to make his brother put him down. Solo reluctantly complied. "Anyway, we've got to keep moving!"

Solo frowned at Duo, and he finally gave a curt, crisp nod. "Let's go."

Keeping a hand over his stomach where the blood was slowly staining his clothes red, Duo struggled along after his brother, keeping an eye on Solo's ponytail. In the heavy rain, he couldn't see where he was going, much less his surroundings. Solo, however, knew where he was going – or how to get through the dense forest, at least.  He was a few years older than Duo, and he actually remembered life before the Lab.

Solo glanced back now and then to make sure Duo was keeping up all right, oftentimes holding aside low bush branches so that Duo could pass without getting slapped in the head by them. Duo's face was beginning to look a little white – he was too small of a child to be losing that much blood – but his left hand retained a firm grip on a small vial that glowed a faint green in the murkiness of the rainy night.

It was what was in that vial, Solo knew, that all of them had escaped from that night. In planning their flight, no one thought of the vial – no one, that is, but Duo. He was the youngest one of all of them there, and he'd often hear the scientists talking about the genetic material in the vial when they thought he was drugged and out of it. Those scientists, it seemed, wanted to put whatever it was that glowed green in there into the children, making the children carriers or "cultures" for the material. Where it came from, Solo didn't know, but he had a gut feeling that he didn't want to know.

He suddenly skidded to a halt. Surrounded by the torrent of the pouring rain, he hadn't noticed the sound of the river that loomed dark and wide before him now. Duo _eeped and tried to slow down; he ended up running into Solo. His brother stared miserably at the river, inundated by the heavy rains. The current ran deep and swift and dangerous under such weather. There was no chance of crossing._

"Not here, anyway," Solo muttered, glancing both upstream and downstream.

"What?" Duo asked, panting slightly.

Solo gave him a look, carefully assessing Duo's condition.  "You stay here," he said finally. "I'm going to go see if we can cross anywhere." He turned back to the river, glanced both ways, and started heading upstream. "Oh." Solo turned, pushing his hair out of the way and wiping the rain off his face. "See if you can't do anything with that vial, will you?"

Duo gave him a thumbs-up and Solo was off at a sprint. He sank down to the muddy ground, keeping his hand over the gash on his stomach. It hurt, but getting away and keeping the vial away from _them was the most important thing right now._

His braid was a heavy wet rope on his back. The rain streamed down his face and drenched him from head to toe. His wound throbbed painfully; Duo pushed his hand more against his stomach to apply more pressure and-

_-ugh. Did that just go in__? Not a good sign._

And then he found himself staring at the vial in his other hand, an idea forming in his mind. It was a good idea – they'd never dream of looking for it there – but…

_Ow._

Duo frowned. No one had been able to think of a good hiding place for the vial. And this was it. He'd either have to make sure he wasn't caught – the chances of which were slim right now, considering his condition – or he'd have to hide it where they wouldn't be able to find it.

Well…a little bit of pain and a lot of pain was still pain, right?

He gritted his teeth. _Drastic times call for drastic measures. Creeping over to the river, Duo dipped to vial in to clean it and his hands as much as he could. If he'd learned anything from his time in the Lab, it was that keeping things sanitary was the best way to stay alive._

Duo took a deep breath, looking at the vial. _Here goes nothing…and if I don't do this, there goes everything. Then he grasped the vial – and __pushed._

A sharp gasp exited his mouth as he forced the small vial deeper into his abdomen. It was a far cry from being the most comfortable of experiences, but necessity decreed the endurance of physical pain – and _pain it was. Blood spilled out onto his hands as he pressed. Duo desperately hoped that he wasn't damaging any major organs._

Finally, it was in. Duo slumped forward on the muddy ground. _When I heal – if I live through this – it should heal over the vial. He felt suddenly dizzy – from the loss of blood or apprehension or something else, he didn't know. He wondered detachedly where Solo was and if he'd found that bridge or not.  _

Then he realized, with a start, that he was hearing Solo's voice. "Duo! Get up!"

Duo struggled up. At a distance he could barely make out the white of Solo's clothes. Solo was running toward him. From behind him, Duo could hear the echoes of gunshots.

Gunshots!

_They must've found him! Duo's mind cried. Forgetting the pain momentarily, Duo motioned quickly for Solo to run faster. Solo drew nearer, and then abruptly fell._

Duo cried out and dashed forward to kneel next to his brother. "Solo!" There was a hole in Solo's back – he'd been shot. Duo looked up. He had to make a decision. There was no way two injured boys could outrun a group of men and their dogs. They'd either have to surrender or jump.

The braided boy looked once at the swollen river, gathered Solo up in his arms, and jumped in.

*-*-*

The dogs couldn't catch a scent in the downpour, footsteps didn't hold for any longer than ten seconds, and any sounds the kids might have made where drowned out in the pounding of the incessant rain.

"Keep on moving!" shouted the team leader. The dogs, catching or imagining that they caught a scent, took off into the trees. The men quickly followed.

No one spared a backward glance at the river, where two brown-haired boys floated unconsciously downriver. They didn't think that children would be driven or have the courage to do such an act.

They were mistaken.

R&R plz! I want feedback!


	2. 1 - The Fallen Warrior

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, characters especially, from Gundam Wing (much as I want to); they belong to Sunrise and Sotsu and its creators, so don't sue me. You wouldn't get anything for it, anyway. The only things I own from this fanfic are the storyline/plot and the ideas, some character designing, and of course my own "voice." [Don't take those from me! :|]

Note: Shounen-ai – if not in this chapter, then certainly in later ones. Read on only if you don't have a problem with this! If you don't know what shounen-ai is, don't read this until you've figured it out.  For those of you who do know, 1+2, 3+4, 5+Meiran are planned as of now.

Wasureta omoide no himitsu (The Secrets of Forgotten Memories)

Written by Arkenjil

[This section completed November 23, 2001.]

Chapter 1 – The Fallen Warrior

A group of children thronged around the door to a quaint little cottage. Chenoa, a perky little girl of six, poked her head inside, winked at the blond in the room to the left of the door, and yelled at the top of her little lungs, "Duo! Duo, let's go! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming; I'm coming!" called the braided boy from somewhere inside the house.

The blond smirked at Chenoa. "Always slow, isn't he?" he asked in his light, lilting voice.

Chenoa nodded gravely, brunette pigtails bouncing. "Solo says that he's always slow. He says that Duo has chr" – her eyes crossed with the effort of trying to remember and pronounce the right word – "chr-"

"Chronic perfectionism disorder," said a deeper voice from behind them. The children turned around with adoring eyes to look at a tall, sandy blond whose hair was swept back in a long ponytail.

The blond inside threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, that's a good one, Solo," he cried, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

The numerous pots that hung from a harness by iron hooks clanked together as Solo carefully set it down. "I'm serious, Kat!" he protested, his face kept carefully solemn. However, his green eyes danced with merriment, serving only to belie his air of earnestness. "Watch him when he comes out – he'll not have a single hair misplaced!"

"Reaaaaally," drawled a voice from the inside room. Quatre turned around to see Duo leaning casually against the inner doorframe, arms crossed in front of his chest. Duo was, as Solo had said, impeccably dressed, but Quatre knew that Duo couldn't care less about how he looked. Duo detached himself and stalked over to the door, where Solo stood and the children milled about his knees. He poked his right index finger into Solo's face. "You have a tendency to misunderstand me, _brother."_

Solo's green eyes bored into Duo's purple ones. "So tell me, Duo," began Solo. The children held their breath, scared now, eyes trained on the older brother.

"Yeah?" snarled Duo, menace creating a slight undercurrent to his normally easygoing tenor. The children's eyes flicked to his lithe form nervously.

"…why you smell like those stinking plants again!" Coughing, Solo backed away, comically waving his hand in front of his face and wheezing and hacking as he did so. The children, sensing that the electricity that had sparked between the two brothers was nothing more than mere show, broke out into laughter at Solo's antics.

Duo waved it off carelessly. "What'd you expect – me smelling like a woman's flowery perfume?" He tossed his head haughtily. "You won't find that in Duo Maxwell, herbalist extraordinaire!" Duo struck a dramatically ridiculous pose, grinning like a maniac. The children dissolved into chortles, some of them rolling on the floor in their joy.

Quatre shook his head knowingly at the pair. "Now, you two, quit clowning around. You'll have plenty of time to do that later." His aquamarine eyes fixed on Duo's. "Duo, Brenner needs more of his medicine. It'd be great if you could get it to him by this afternoon."

The braided boy winked at the blond. "Consider it done, my liege." He swept a low bow with an imaginary hat mockingly. Solo rolled his eyes and booted Duo in the rear before turning to flee, pots on the harness a-clanking, from a crazy braided flurry.

*-*-*

Shielding his dark eyes from the sun, he chewed on his lip anxiously. It was a bright spring day, but he shivered involuntarily as a breeze blew against his fine white clothes, embroidered with the symbol of a dragon. The white horse he rode on exhaled in a horse-type sneeze and shook her head. He patted Shenlong's neck unconsciously, eyes fixed ahead.

With a sigh, he turned to an aide beside him who had hair that seemed to defy gravity. "How much further, Trowa?" he asked.

The brown-haired young man glanced down at the map he held with his visible green eyes. "Not much further, sir," Trowa replied, shifting his gear. He looked up at the road in front of him, then peered back at the map. "Actually, it should be just beyond this ridge coming up."

"Good. Keep on going." With that, he turned his horse back and rode to a gurney being pulled by two black horses, located toward the middle of the small procession. A woman with black hair and a group of men accompanied the gurney, and the men looked up and saluted as he approached.

He nodded sharply to them to acknowledge their salutes. They returned to talking amongst themselves. He sighed in exasperation at the day and the circumstances he was faced with as he fell in beside the woman. "How is he doing, Meiran?" he asked of her.

She pulled her worried gaze away from the still figure on the gurney. "Not so well," she replied evenly, dark eyes meeting his. "He gets paler as the day progresses, Wufei. We need to find that healer, and fast."

"I know. Trowa said it should be just over this ridge."

Meiran's eyes followed the line his outstretched arm made to the said ridge. "Good," she said curtly. She looked back at Wufei. "And is Trowa sure of his competence? I-"

"Yes, woman!" Wufei huffed. It was obvious that they'd been through this a couple of times.

Meiran only glared at him, undeterred by his bad mood. She gestured frantically to the motionless form on the gurney. "You _know this is no ordinary injury, Wufei. I'm just worried about him. He-"_

"I know," interrupted Wufei, softly this time. "This is not normal for him. But I trust Trowa and his judgment, and if he says this is the best healer around, I'll stake my life on it."

"All right then." Meiran's eyes went back to the static figure as she shifted on the saddle, arranging her sword into a more comfortable position. "He just hasn't moved for days, Wufei. I'm afraid we'll lose him."

"Me too, Meiran," Wufei murmured to his wife. There was a slight catch in his voice. "Me too."

A shout came from ahead – Trowa. The archer's sharp eyes must've caught sight of something interesting. "Sir! If you could come up here!"

Wufei nodded a momentary farewell to Meiran before squeezing his knees, sending Shenlong into a canter to the front of the group. As he drew nearer to where Trowa rode at the front of the line, his eyes were drawn to the line of houses appearing out of the trees before him. "Good," he said, falling in beside his friend. His eyes flicked back for a second. "Are you," he began, "…sure of this healer's capabilities?" Had she heard this, Meiran would've laughed at him. That, or called him a hypocrite.

"I am, Wufei," Trowa replied softly. "I haven't seen him since we were small, but I know his passion for helping others and his…magical capacity. It is greater than anyone else I have met. I have complete faith in my belief that Quatre grew up to be a great healer."

"Then I do, too," Wufei responded.  He paused, then said, "Thank you."

Trowa shook his head. "Don't thank me. I'm just doing this for his health." A worried look fell across his face. "I hope he gets better."

The sound of children laughing reached their ears, and the two men looked up. On the dirt road in front of them, heading across their path and through the village, two young men and a group of kids walked. One of the men, strongly built, balanced a child on one broad shoulder and a yoke of sorts with pots dangling from it on the other. He had a long ponytail that hung down to a little above his waist, and a sword hung at his side. In front of him walked a lithe, slender boy with a long chestnut braid that hung down to his butt. He wasn't as tall as the other man, nor did he look as strong. He probably could've passed as a girl, had he been in the right clothes. He was dressed in all black, from head to toe. Most of the children flocked around his feet, and he bent down to pick one of them up.

Wufei cleared his throat. "Excuse me!" he called.

They all looked up as one. "Can I help you?" asked the taller man, enunciating his words clearly so they'd carry across the distance between the two.

Trowa spoke up. "Can you tell us where Quatre Winner lives?" he queried.

"Quatre?" asked the taller man, his brows drawing together as he frowned.

Trowa's heart leapt to his throat. _Surely he must…!_

The braided boy was yelling back to him. "…just down the road, where we are coming from. His house is the only one right next to the communal well, and the red sign of the healer's league hangs at the front. You can't miss it!"

Trowa felt relieved. "Thank you!" he called back. To Wufei, he muttered, "Let's go." Trowa clicked his tongue twice and his horse sprang forward into the village, followed quickly by the troops, the gurney, and its precious cargo.

The house was, as the chestnut-haired boy had said, easily found. Trowa quickly dismounted and walked up to the door, glancing momentarily at the red league sign that hung over it. He hesitated for only a fraction of a second before drawing his hand back and rapping sharply.

"Coming!" called a voice from inside. There was a slight scuffing sound before the door swung open on well-oiled hinges, and Quatre and Trowa stood face-to-face.

Trowa felt his breath stop, heart hammering wildly at his ribcage. Quatre was just as he'd remembered him – the angelic look, the innocence; it was all still there. However, there was a different aura about him that told of growing older and gaining expertise. Trowa knew, just by looking, that if anyone could help his friend, it'd be Quatre.

"…Trowa?" Quatre asked, big aquamarine eyes blinking up at him.

"Hi, Quatre," Trowa said.

"What brings you-?"

 "Sorry, but we've got someone in dire need of your skills," Trowa interrupted reluctantly. He'd wanted to listen to Quatre's voice, but he knew that a life was at stake.

The look of surprise on Quatre's face shifted into one of determination. "Bring him in," he commanded, moving into the house to get things set for his new patient.

Trowa motioned and the gurney came forward. Wufei and Trowa both helped carry the prone body off the gurney into the cool darkness of Quatre's house. The scent of herbs and fragrant wood filled the air. Quatre motioned for them to place their burden on the bed.

"What happened?" he asked, undoing the wrappings around the man's head.

"Out on an expedition," Wufei answered shortly, "ran into a Silencer."

Quatre glanced up at Wufei only momentarily. "Sorry for the informality, sir; we'll have to get to know each other later. A Silencer is not a good thing. Let's see here…" He frowned at the large gash on the man's forehead and _tsked disapprovingly. "This doesn't look good. Where's the mark?"_

Trowa leaned over and pulled the bandages down a little on the man's chest, pointing. "It's right here."

Quatre bent over the figure, looking at the mark. "A curse," he muttered, mostly to himself, "energy and stamina draining; not yet to the point of sucking out life." He looked up. "Trowa, if you will, please fetch any villager you see outside and ask them to come to me – a teen, preferably."

Trowa nodded at the strange request and left. Wufei looked at Quatre worriedly. "Can you heal him?"

"You got him to me before the curse got fatal. I can heal him, sir – I just need a little more than magic, though." He looked at Wufei. "Tell me of his character. Strong or persevering or…what kind of person is he?"

"A fighter," Wufei replied automatically. "I'd had got this curse had it not been for him. He's spiritually and physically very strong, steadfast, and he'd definitely fight for his life. He's hardly ever sick, and he's got a strong tolerance for poisons."

"Good," Quatre replied. "I'm sure he'll be all right."

"Quatre?" asked Trowa. Quatre turned. A young boy – Simon – stood behind the tall archer.

"Simon! Go and fetch Duo. Tell him to come quickly, and tell him to start thinking of things for a Silencer's drain curse."

Simon nodded once and took off down the road. Trowa advanced back into the room. Standing up, Quatre began moving around the house. He went to a cabinet in the room and started picking out a few things from several drawers. "This is a house of healing. While you're in here," he said as he worked, "you either listen to me or you get out of the way. This is a matter of life and death; you either help or haul yourself out. Got it?"

"Yes," replied Wufei and Trowa instantly.

"All right, then." Quatre turned back with two handfuls of differently colored stones. "Now, tell me his name."

"Heero. Heero Yuy."

Quatre leaned over Heero and arranged his body so that he lay flat on the bed with his limbs spread out.  The blond healer placed a stone on Heero's forehead, the hollow of this throat, the palms of his upturned hands, his chest, and on other power point on Heero's body. "Stand back." As Wufei and Trowa moved back, Quatre clasped his hands together and began chanting in a strange, arcane language.

As he continued, Meiran came into the room and whispered into her husband's ear. Wufei nodded and his wife left. A few minutes later, the door opened quickly and the braided boy they saw earlier ran in, minus the children. His eyes quickly catalogued the situation as he advanced toward the bed. Duo looked carefully at the mark on Heero and its location and the location of Quatre's stones. Then he turned and disappeared into a back room.

Both Wufei and Trowa could hear drawers opening and closing rapidly. Wufei turned around to watch what was going on with the braided boy. After a minute, Duo emerged with three bowls in his hands and a paintbrush behind an ear. He moved to the stone wall where the fireplace was and set the bowls down. Taking one of them, he positioned it under a spout protruding from the wall that neither Wufei nor Trowa had noticed before and pushed a button. Steaming water gushed out of the spigot into the bowl. Duo picked up the paintbrush and stirred the contents, moving toward the bed as he did so.

Quatre didn't move as Duo approached. The chestnut-haired boy waited until the concoction took on a paste-like consistency, then took the paintbrush and began painting strange symbols on Heero's face and body, whispering words in the same language that Quatre was chanting in as he did so. After he finished that, he set the bowl aside and got the other two, filling them with water and mixing them with a stick that looked suspiciously like wood. These he mixed together, pouring the contents from one into the other. A hissing noise sounded upon their contact, and orange smoke arose from the blend. An acrid smell filled the air, and Wufei grimaced at the smell of it. Duo continued stirring.

Quatre finished chanting and took the stones off Heero's body. Where they had once been was left faint marks the color of the stones. Quatre set them aside and moved Heero into a sitting position. The paste that Duo had painted on him had dried already into a hard substance with the look of colored clay. Duo came forward with the mixture he'd been stirring, and the two of them somehow got Heero to drink all of it. Then they laid him down again, covered him with heavy blankets, and Quatre placed a new stone on Heero's forehead.  Duo disappeared into the back room and came back with a few sticks of what looked to be incense, lit them, and stuck them straight up into a bowl of sand by Heero's head.

The two of them quietly cleaned up the stuff they didn't need anymore and beckoned to Trowa and Wufei to go into a side room that was just by the front door. Inside was a table surrounded by chairs, cupboards, a sink, and a pantry. This was, most likely, the kitchen. There was a big window facing the front of the house, and plain white curtains hung at the sides.

Quatre shut the door behind them, not speaking until he had done so. "Heero needs quiet now, and time to heal."

Trowa sat down at the table in the brightly lit room. "He'll be all right, then?"

"Most assuredly," Duo answered, settling down into a chair. He smiled brilliantly at the two of them. "My name's Duo Maxwell. I live here with Quatre and my brother Solo. You saw him with me when you came in. I'm an herbalist, as you probably figured out already. You two are…?"

"Trowa Barton," the tall archer said. "I'm an archer under milord here."

"Chang Wufei," Wufei stated, "lord of Larne Sylvan, north of here."

"Tea?" asked Quatre, moving about the kitchen.

"Sure; as long as it doesn't give off orange smoke." Trowa smiled. Wufei also gave his assent.

Duo chose to ignore Trowa's comment. "Larne Sylvan," Duo mused. He shot a look at Quatre, whose back was turned to him. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he began, directing his focus toward Wufei, "but wasn't Larne Sylvan in political turmoil a while back?"

"Yes. The last regime was destroyed by the Silencers in the region. People wanted a leader who would save them. They got me instead."

"Not 'instead,' sir," Trowa objected. "They got you as an answer their wishes."

"Sure, I believe that." Wufei snorted in derision. "I'm supposed to save Larne from the Silencers and I get my right hand man incapacitated. Yes, that's going to help a lot." His voice practically dripped sarcasm.

"Running into a Silencer and having only one man put out of action is really admirable," Quatre commented, returning to the table with the tea. "What happened to it, anyway?"

"Heero killed it," Trowa stated triumphantly. "We watched it crumble to dust."

"With the gain of a curse," moaned Wufei.

"Still."

"So, I'm assuming Heero either has a magicked sword or possess powers himself?"

"Both, actually." Trowa nodded. "Not much, mind you, but he's got enough power to do little things. Like enchant the sword of the entire legion for battling Silencers. Unfortunately, it's not enough to put a Silencer out of commission. We need a full-blown mage to do that." He sipped some of the tea. "We manage quite well with just Heero, though. He's a great guy. He can get pretty cold at times, you know, the whole single-minded devotion to the cause and the mission and all that, but once you get to know him, he's really nice."

"Once you get to know him," repeated Wufei. He chucked. "Before then, it's 'Heero-the-rock-Yuy does not feel like talking to you; in the meantime, he will service you with a scary glare until you back off.' He's an awesome fighter, though. One of – no, scratch that – _the best warrior I've ever met." Wufei's tone turned wistful. "I wish we have more men like him on the team. It'd help a lot more."_

"They're not all that bad," Trowa amended. "Since Heero showed up, he's earned their respect and admiration. Now all of them want to be like him-"

"Unfortunately, that means picking up some of his mannerisms, as well," Wufei grumbled. "You'd be amazed at how many 'Hn's I can get in a single day."

"Hn," grunted Trowa.

"Shut up."

"One thing about Heero," Trowa said, pretending to ignore Wufei, "is that he doesn't smile much. He's pretty serious and focused, and he expects nothing less from those around him. Yeah, we're allowed to have some slack time, but he's gotten the legion in shape. I'd think the only problem with him is that he doesn't know how to let go. He doesn't smile and he doesn't joke around. He especially has a hard time with the ladies."

"Oh?" asked Quatre, quirking an eyebrow up.

"They're attracted to him, sure – heck, they love him! But he just offhandedly brushes their affections off and doesn't give them a second glance. Doesn't give them a first glance, as a matter of fact."

Trowa paused to drink some tea, and Wufei jumped back in. "However much he doesn't pay attention to the ladies, he focuses all his concentration on the legion. Everyday he'll be running through procedure for drilling, training, unexpected occurrences – you name an incident, he has an execution plan for it. Except that last Silencer, though." Wufei frowned, remembering. "I was stuck – couldn't move. I think my foot was trapped in some kind of vine or rope or something. The Silencer came up to me and would've laid a curse down on my head if Heero didn't jump in. Took the curse full on and collapsed. He bought me enough time to get free, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that Heero had enchanted his sword. After he fell, it floated up and struck the Silencer in the head."

"It died," concluded Trowa.

"Sounds like you guys need a mage."

"Sure do." Wufei sighed. "With Heero and Meiran both, we manage. Meiran's more of a healer, like you, Quatre, but she hasn't been formally trained." A smile spread across his face. "She's a warrior."

"By the way, Quatre, how have you been?" asked Trowa, before Wufei could get started.

"Good enough," was the reply. "The Master left a few years ago to move on to other cities. If he was here, you could've asked him to help you guys against the Silencers."

"So you can't?" asked Wufei.

Quatre's eyes sparkled as he laughed. "I'm not that good, sir."

Duo, who had been silent through the entire conversation about the Silencer, chose now to clear his throat. "I was…admiring the dragon on your shirt, Wufei. It's very elegant."

Wufei looked down at his shirt. "Yes; my wife embroidered it. She's very good."

"Is it supposed to symbolize anything?"

"I'm from the Dragon Clan – we're from another continent," he clarified in response to Quatre and Duo's apparent confusion. "Meiran is, as well. It is tradition to have the sacred dragon on our clothes, especially those we wear into battle."

"You wear that into battle?" Duo stared incredulously at the fine material Wufei's clothes were made out of.

"No," Wufei snapped. "I ripped up my regular clothes to bandage Heero's wounds from that stupid Silencer."

"Oh," said Duo, and left it at that.

Quatre coughed slightly, and the other three looked up at him expectantly. "I believe we can get off the subject of the Silencer and Heero for the time being. I'm sure Heero will heal; it's only a matter of time. Wufei – I'm assuming I may call you that?" Wufei nodded, "—you need to get lodgings taken care of while you stay here. I suggest you return to your other affairs, as Heero will not be healthy enough to go anywhere within the next few weeks."

"Meiran already saw to that. She should be back any minute now."

Duo's eyebrows shot up. "Man, you've got everything taken care of for you, don't you, sir?"

Wufei frowned at him. Quatre looked at the two of them, groaned inwardly to himself, and asked, "Where's Solo?"

"Bringing the kids in." Duo turned back to Quatre. "He's also got my pots. He was supposed to be training Yuasa and Jingo, too – I guess that'll be postponed until tomorrow." All of a sudden, he jumped up. "Oh crap! I forgot about Brenner's medicine! I'll be back in a few!"

With that, he hurried out of the little room. Trowa and Wufei exchanged glances. "He," Wufei began, "is certainly a strange person."

"Brenner's had this illness for quite a while now," Quatre explained, sipping at his tea. "I've tried everything, but the sickness isn't magic-based and won't respond to my efforts to get rid of it. Then Duo comes in one day, takes one look at him and administers him this – I don't know what it is – herbal drink, and Brenner's condition immediately began improving drastically. We all want him to get better soon. He's been out of everything for such a long time."

"Whose child is he?" asked Trowa. "I don't recall ever hearing the surname 'Maxwell' in this village."

"He and his brother arrived after you left, Trowa. We found the two of them washed up on the bank of Cullers River. My master was still training me at the time, and we took them in." Quatre's face clouded over. "Solo had been shot in the back, and Duo had this awful gash across his stomach. Solo woke up first. His memory was almost completely gone. He didn't remember anything that had happened before, just that Duo was his little brother and that they'd been running. From who or what – he didn't know.

"Solo recovered pretty quickly, but Duo wouldn't wake up. We were afraid that he'd gone into a coma. His wound had already healed, but he just didn't wake up. My master went out one day and came back with a bunch of herbs. He mixed them together and made Duo drink it. Two days later, Duo woke up." Quatre smiled wistfully at the memory. "He immediately wanted to learn herbology from my master as a result, so he taught us both our respective fields simultaneously. As for Solo – well, Solo wasn't that interested in it. He was more of a fighter."

"A fighter, is he?" Wufei lapsed into thought. "You know, depending on how skilled he is, Solo might just be able to join us in our fight against the Silencers. I always appreciate a good hand at martial skills. You can tell that from Trowa here; he's one of the finest archers around."

Quatre turned appreciative eyes on Trowa, who blushed and ducked his head a little. "Wufei's just kidding, you know," he protested. "I'm not that great."

"Are you calling me a liar?" asked Wufei, growling low in his throat.

"Never heard you speak a single truth in my life," Trowa replied, glaring equally ferociously back at his lord. The two of them looked at each other and broke up laughing. Quatre nearly fell off his chair chuckling.

The door opened. "Man, I must've walking into the funny room or something," Solo observed. He noticed the three empty teacups on the table. "Quatre, what'd you put into the tea?"

Quatre was wiping tears from his eyes. "Not _me putting stuff in drinks," he quipped._

"Right, that's Duo," Solo muttered, "who isn't here right now. That guy always escapes right before he can get into trouble." He looked at Wufei and Trowa. "Hey. I'm Solo Maxwell."

"We've heard about you," Wufei replied, giving Solo the hairy eyeball.

Trowa rolled his eyes and yanked on Wufei's ponytail. "He's gotten into a really strange mood. You're right, it must be the tea. I'm Trowa, and this crazy guy is my lord Wufei."

" 'Your _lord Wufei?'" he repeated incredulously. Solo's eyebrows shot up, much like Duo's did a while ago. He shook his head disapprovingly. "You people have a strange sense of humor, making such a quack your lord." He winked at Wufei, plainly saying 'no offense meant.' Solo sat down in Duo's chair, eyed his brother's tea, and then drained it all in one gulp. He waved the empty cup at Quatre. "I put Duo's pots into the herb room, Kat. Don't try to walk in there. You'll get killed."_

"I've learned to steer away from Duo's areas of inhabitance, Solo." Quatre refilled Solo's cup.

Solo jerked his thumb in the general direction of the outside room. "Who's the patient?"

"Heero, my second-in-command," replied Wufei.

"What's got to him?" Solo asked, bringing the cup to his lips.

"Silencer."

Solo choked on his tea. Quatre quickly pounded him on the back. "Sorry 'bout that," Solo gasped. He shook his head quickly, hair swishing on his back, as if trying to get a bad thought out of his head.  "Did you say a Silencer?"

"Yes."

Frowning, Solo bit his lip. His expression grew solemn. "Who let _those crazies out?" he wondered to himself. His emerald eyes caught Wufei's dark ones. "I'm assuming you've been fighting them for a while."_

"That is correct."

"What's up, Solo?" asked Quatre. "You look like you're…remembering something."

Solo sighed. "I think…" He glanced at Quatre. "I think my parents…were killed by Silencers." The room was quiet. Solo, lost deep in thought, shook his head slowly. "I don't quite remember. There's more to it, but I…I'm not sure." His head jerked up suddenly. "Quatre! Remember, a few years ago, when there was a rumor about a Silencer being loose around this village?"

Quatre nodded his head slowly. "What about it?"

"Duo and I were out in the forest, gathering herbs for the master." His eyes looked past Quatre, into nothingness. "We ran into the Silencer."

"What?!" Quatre exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Why don't I know this?"

"It didn't get us, that's why! It- it knocked me out cold first. When I woke up, there was a pile of ash and Duo was asleep next to me. Maybe he'd been knocked out, but whoever saved us didn't stay."

"You don't think-" Trowa began.

"-that _Duo killed the Silencer, do you?" Wufei asked, eyes boring into Solo's mind, as if he could see what Solo hadn't been awake to remember._

*Tsuzuku

R&R plz! I want feedback!


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